Circles and Squares

Posted on May 22, 2016 by mauistamper

I’m still playing with the Everything set from the April Paper Pumpkin. For this gate-fold card, I chose to layer a circle onto a square – not my usual combination, but I’m happy with the result:

Stamps: Everything
Color palette: Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Crushed Curry
Accessories: 2 1/2″ circle punch, corner rounder punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Tip Top Taupe lace, Timeless Elegance DSP

The Taupe lace is very soft and has nice stretch and give, so you can knot it and then manipulate it to your liking. I think I’ll be able to get away with regular postage if I add a single card stock layer in front of the bow before I put the card in the envelope.

Blackberry Birthday

Posted on May 14, 2016 by mauistamper

The Everything stamp set that was included in the latest Paper Pumpkin really does cover, well, anything:

Stamps: Everything Paper Pumpkin bonus)
Color palette: Blackberry Bliss, Blushing Bride, Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Gold thread, Timeless Elegance DSP

I’ve worked hard this year to use as much of my DSP stash as I can. I tend to hoard it – for what, I’m not sure. How about you? What’s the oldest DSP in your stash?

Time is slipping away on the Retiring List. Last day to order is May 31st!

A little vintage love

Posted on May 10, 2016 by mauistamper

I don’t do a lot of vintage design. I’m drawn to the style but have a hard time adding the necessary bits and layers that define it.

Stamps: Timeless Texture, Birthday Blossoms
Color Palette: Very Vanilla, Lost Lagoon
Accessories: Big Shot and Little Letters Thinlits, Rhinestone Jewels, Aquapainter, Stampin’ Write markers, Pansy punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Wink of Stella

I markered the word “you” from the phrase “celebrate you” and used the Aquapainter to add a little extra color to the flower.

Here’s a hint: when you’re using framelits or Thinlits to create negative space like these letters, put a sheet of thin paper (printer paper works well) between the cutting pad and the thinlit. It will protect your project from embossing any stray cut marks on your cutting pads.

I’m gonna miss this sweet little bird

Posted on May 6, 2016 by mauistamper

I have a bit of a thing for birds. It’s taken me a while to learn the ones that frequent my back yard, but I’ve made good if not perfect progress. I love to hear them when I wake up in the morning.

I watercolored this fellow using my Aquapainter and watercolor paper. He doesn’t look like any bird I’ve seen, he just makes me happy the way he is.

The Greetings Thinlit has sold out but last time I checked the rest of these beautiful supplies were available. You can shop HERE.

May Flowers

Posted on May 1, 2016 by mauistamper

The soft tones in this month’s calendar welcome May to my kitchen counter:

Stamps: You’re Sublime (available wood and clear mount)
Color Palette: Lost Lagoon, Wisteria Wonder, Pear Pizazz, So Saffron, Crushed Curry, Calypso Coral, Watermelon Wonder, Smoky Slate
Accessories: Blender pen, Stampin’ Write marker

I gave my blender pens another chance and loved the soft tones I was able to achieve. The images are smaller – just right to practice. And I’m in love with this curious little wheelbarrow!

Take a look at the calendars that Cheryl and Crystal have created this month.

Sparkly Congratulations

Posted on April 26, 2016 by mauistamper

I designed this card to be a multi-application “Congratulations” that I can keep in my stash for that last-minute card occasion. The colors are neutral but sparkly, making it celebratory for either gender.

Stamps: Bravo (retiring 5/31/16), Balloon Builders, Be the Star (retiring 5/31/16)
Color Palette: Whisper White, Basic Black, Smoky Slate
Accessories: Balloon Builder punch, Confetti Stars Border punch, Silver Foil paper, Gold Glimmer paper, Stampin’ Dimensionals

You might be noticing a trend. I’ve been working towards making cards that are flat enough to mail without extra postage. I want to SEND them, not admire them! I’ve found that elements raised with Stampin’ Dimensionals fare best when an extra piece of card stock is placed over the front of the card in the envelope.

So make a card – and send it!

Shop HERE.

Thinking of you, Little Koala

Posted on April 23, 2016 by mauistamper

This sweet face is on the list of stamps to retire on May 31st. I’ll be keeping Kind Koala in my permanent collection:

Stamps: Kind Koala (retiring 5/31/16)
Color Palette: Basic Black, Smoky Slate, Blushing Bride, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Neutrals Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack, Watercolor paper, Aquapainter, White Perfect Accents, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Sharpie, Wink of Stella

For the most satisfying results, you really need to use Watercolor paper with the Aquapainter to color a larger image like the Koala. Watercolor paper allows you to move the color around, to add and even subtract color. I find I can get acceptable results on Whisper White if I’m working with small images, but if you work the color too much the finish of the paper will start to get rough. The Watercolor paper is much more forgiving.

I used a yellow Sharpie to color the White Perfect Accent. It did the job, but the more I look at it the more I think it needs to be a different color. Or perhaps it just needs to be another COLOUR. That may be my problem right there.

Bring this sweet little face into your life right HERE.

Another take on wreaths

Posted on April 20, 2016 by mauistamper

Wreaths are an all-season trend and we have beautiful stamps and framelits to create them. However, you can make an infinitely customizable wreath with your stamps and a simple circle mask:

Stamps: What I Love (SAB 2016), And Many More (retiring 5/31/16)
Color Palette: So Saffron, Pear Pizazz, Lost Lagoon (retiring 5/31/16), Soft Sky
Accessories: Linen Thread, White Bakers Twine, Wink of Stella, Rhinestone Jewels, Circles Framelits (retiring 5/31/16), Itty Bitty Accents punch pack (retiring 5/31/16)

This very simple card could be recreated in any color palette using nearly any flower stamp set. It could even be done with leaves, or shells, or whatever you can imagine.

I cut a circle in the center of a piece of card stock with a Circles Framelit. I taped my card front down with some washi tape and then taped the circle mask over it, positioning the circle in the center of the card front. From there, I played with the images until I found a balance that pleased me. A helpful hint: press firmly at the edge of the mask to get into the edge of the circle.

I made a few different arrangements until I was happy, so you might consider playing with this on some scrap paper until you get the results you want.

The What I Love stamp set is already retired as a 2016 Sale-a-bration selection, but you can see that many of the other products I’ve used are also retiring. If there’s a retiring product you love, I suggest you shop now as these things often sell out before the end of the catalog. Shop the Retiring List HERE. A PDF that you can print is available HERE.

The Retiring List is Posted!

Posted on April 18, 2016 by mauistamper

Wonder no longer – the Stampin’ Up! 2015-2016 Retiring List has posted!

There are some great deals available, and a number of favorite products are leaving to make room for new things. Take a look HERE and shop now. Supplies are limited and items on this list often sell out quickly.

Click HERE if you prefer a PDF listing that you can highlight, annotate, and study.

And don’t forget that the last of the Weekly Deals end tonight at 7:50pm HST.

I’ve had a sneak peek at the new catalog, and you just might want to take advantage of some of these (framelit) deals!! {wink wink}

Want to see the catalog before everyone else? There’s only one way: Become a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator! Check HERE for more details.

What a RemARKable Spring!

Posted on April 14, 2016 by mauistamper

Aloha and welcome to the Valley Isle, where we don’t celebrate Spring as much as we celebrate whale season, mango season, lychee season and tourist season! I know some of the stops on this RemARKable Spring tour have taken you to places still waiting for the sun, but here on Maui you can throw off your jacket and glide into your rubbah slippahs.

Stamps: Circle of Spring, Hardwood, Butterfly Basics
Color Palette: Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo, Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Accessories: Big Shot and Wreath Framelits, Stampin’ Trimmer, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Triple Banner Punch, Blender Pens, Pink Rhinestone Jewels (retired from a kit so old I can’t begin to tell you it’s age!)

The markings on the Stampin’ Trimmer make it very easy to cut away the top panel. I trimmed off 2 1/8″ to create the gate effect.

The wreath is colored quickly and simply with Blender Pens. With this much detail, I like the ability to work with a fine tip but still have control over color saturation. The Blender Pen allows more color variety than a Stampin’ Write marker.

If you know me, I’ll bet you guessed this was coming! This is my favorite combination and it’s hard for me to pass up an opportunity to showcase how well these colors play together.

In addition to Whisper White, Crumb Cake and Wild Wasabi, I’ve used Soft Sky, Island Indigo and Daffodil Delight. I often choose Pool Party in a case like this, but I liked the more subtle shade of Soft Sky this time.

The slats for the fence are made by using the Hardwood background stamp and cutting them with the Stampn’ Trimmer right along the board lines in the image. They end up being about 3/8″ wide, and I take one board and slice it in half for the cross bars. I tuck the end of the slat into the back of the Triple Banner punch to get a perfect peak.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these cards. Time to head over to see what Heather Mathieson has done for this month’s RemARKable Spring Blog Tour.